Basketball has come a long way in this country, but for the growth really to rocket forward, the Raptors need to stay successful and the sports networks, corporate Canada and federal government need to step up.

That was the message emanating from a well-received keynote panel at the University of Toronto Sports Business Association’s fifth annual sports industry conference on Friday.

Former Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns president/general manager Bryan Colangelo and Canada Basketball president and chief executive officer Michele O’Keefe had a lively discussion moderated by long-time Raptors television analyst Jack Armstrong called “Emerging markets: The prominence of basketball in Canada.”

It has been a decade since Colangelo left the desert for Toronto and he has seen huge shifts in the popularity of basketball, as well as improvements in the quality of players, coaches and facilities at all levels here.

Colangelo still lives in Toronto three years after leaving the Raptors and sees a ton of local hoops, since his 18-year-old son Mattia is a star guard at Upper Canada College and for AAU squad Canada Elite, garnering NCAA interest.

“The quality of teaching is very good,” Colangelo said.

“What’s impressive for me is to see development of the game at the grassroots level. It’s being taught the right way.”

Colangelo also mentioned that whereas once all the best Canadians were lured to American prep schools before going on to the NCAA and then Europe or the NBA, now there are even local alternatives popping up, like Orangeville Prep, just northwest of Toronto and The Hill Academy in Vaughan, the hometown of reigning NBA rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins.

“People are coming here now and it’s great to see. There’s an impressive flow of talent right now, we are catching up to the rest of the world.”

Armstrong, the former coach at Niagara University chimed in as well, saying when he was a coach, he would automatically red-shirt any Canadian recruits, giving his staff an extra year to develop the prospects, since the expectation was they had not had the proper training and needed a lot of work.

“All that has changed. Now (many) are stars right away,” Armstrong said.

For O’Keefe, who has worked “off and on” at Canada Basketball for 21 years and is a member of FIBA’s central board, the rise of the Raptors has been a key, as well as the brilliance of Victoria’s Steve Nash and the influx of new immigrants to Canada.

As Colangelo mentioned, many of the immigrants “come in as fans of global games like basketball and soccer, not hockey … It’s a great opportunity to capture those eyeballs.”

But there is still work to do. Ratings for the Raptors and NBA still aren’t good. Highlights still are shown after hockey and usually other sports on the television networks, even with the Raptors in the midst of the best season in the 21-year history of the franchise.

O’Keefe said one of Canada Basketball’s major goals is to “capture the hearts and minds of Canadians” to make them pay attention and care about basketball (the other pillars are upping participation numbers to soccer and then hockey levels and finally knocking the mighty Americans of off their pedestals on the women’s and men’s side).

More corporate support is a must, but both O’Keefe and Colangelo are realistic. The demand isn’t yet there and money talks.

“If Canadians want more basketball, they have to ask (the networks) for it and I’m not sure they are (yet),” O’Keefe said.

That said, based on how good the Raptors have been for three straight years now, Colangelo thinks fans are being under-served in this country.

“The success of the team warrants more than what they are getting right now,” he said.

Colangelo would also like to see Canadian University Sport join the NCAA, even it it is mostly to play in Division II or III so “good Canadians don’t have to go down south.”

A lack of support from the federal government, whether it’s in terms of money or in helping facilitate the naturalization of deserving people like former Raptor Matt Bonner, who desperately wanted to suit up for Canada, also needs to continue to be improved, according to the speakers.

“Own the Podium wanted to fund individuals (not team sports like basketball),” said a clearly exasperated O’Keefe speaking of how things were only a few years ago. On the bright side, O’Keefe says the relationship is now excellent.

“We needed their help and they didn’t give it,” Colangelo said of the federal government stonewalling the Bonner process earlier this decade, to which Armstrong added: “If it was a hockey player, it would have gotten done in five minutes.”

The comment drew laughs, but basketball fans in Canada know there is some truth to it.

BET PAID OFF

When Colangelo signed Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan to a long-term extension back in October of 2012, the contract was seen nearly universally as a mistake and an over-pay (this corner included). Of course, DeRozan grew into a two-time all-star and the deal became one of the NBA’s biggest bargains (DeRozan will get a new deal this summer worth about 1.5 times more per season than the old pact based on his new value).

Colangelo said it was an easy call to make, both because he knew DeRozan would work tirelessly to prove himself and because he valued character players who wanted to be in Toronto and few can match DeRozan in those regards.

Colangelo indicated Raptors fans should not worry about DeRozan bolting after the season.

“DeMar has said all the right things. He has shown commitment to Toronto,” Colangelo said, adding that Kyle Lowry felt the same way and re-signed when he was up for free agency and had many other options.

“(Lowry) felt safe here,” Colangelo said of the point guard he traded for.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.